Desmosedici

The Paris/Retromobile round of collectible car and bike auctions gets underway this week with sales by Artcurial, Bonhams and RM. Though dozens of cars will sell for more than a million dollars, the world's most important barnfind, the Baillon Collection, will be the star of the show. We've designed this article and the hi-res image gallery to highlight all of the important cars, motorcycles and selected automobilia on offer this week in Paris. If you flick through the image gallery, you can click directly through from the high resolution image to the auction description for any items that may interest you.
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CURRENTLY BEING UPDATED: March 23, 2015 Mass changes to the top 100 motorcycles as a result of the EJ Cole auction means we're currently revising this listing and expect to have it completed in a few hours. Please check back shortly. Our list of the top 100 highest priced motorcycles ever sold at auction offers unprecedented perspective on the rare motorcycle marketplace. It includes full details and images of each bike, plus links to the official auction page and catalog descriptions.
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French company Midual has joined the limited-edition hyper-priced motorcycle marketplace with an ingenious redesign of the century-old horizontally-opposed motor, an aerospace-quality, cast-aluminum monocoque frame, bespoke personalization, a we-come-to-you service model, a rare standard of detail and craftsmanship, and a €140,000 (US$185,400) price tag.
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So you think you have an eye for value in assessing investment-quality cars and motorcycles? Here are a dozen cars and motorcycles that went to auction last week. We've included the official description, several images and the official estimates on price from the auctioneer. Can you guess how much each sold for? Answers at the bottom of the story.
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In a sign of the times, Ducati has announced it will be selling two very recent Ducati Desmosedici GP machines at auction. The bikes, a GP11 2011 factory Desmosedici which brought Valentino Rossi his only top three finish of the 2011 season, and the other a 2010 model GP10 which Casey Stoner took to victory in the 2010 Australian Grand Prix, are subject to an undisclosed reserve. The buyer will be required to enter into a confidentiality agreement.
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Ducati's new generation v-twin 1200cc sports bike will be announced at the EICMA International Motorcycle Show in Milan this November. What we know for sure is that it will be named the "Ducati 1199 Panigale" and that it will not use the traditional Ducati trellis frame but a roadgoing version of the frameless design which has been raced and evaluated rather unsuccessfully by the world's best rider - Valentino Rossi. It seems like a massive gamble for a company that has traditionally attracted customers with its race-winning superbikes. Rumours suggest that the new road bike will weigh in at 176 kg wet and produce 195 bhp. How well it will handle will be the issue.
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It's getting a little late for a last minute Christmas shopping list, but not to worry, most of us outside the Forbes Top 100 couldn't afford any of these anyway! Still, it's fascinating to look at what's possible if the word "budget" isn't in your vocabulary, so here's our annual look at what you won't be getting for Christmas this year – the most outrageous examples of high-end overkill that have graced Gizmag's pages throughout 2010.
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Overkill. The word's origins are military in nature, describing a situation where one country has enough nuclear weapons to destroy significantly more of another nation that it would ever need to in order to win a war. But the term applies perfectly to today's sportsbike market, where any numpty with a license and a check book can waltz into a dealership and wobble out on a thoroughbred race machine that can break the speed limit at mid-revs in first gear and accelerate faster than any car on the road. Of course, for some people that's just not enough, bless their souls – but to create a vehicle that stands out from the pack in such a time of plenty, you have to take things to the absolute extreme. And it's a long time since we saw anything quite as extreme as the NCR M16, a bike that takes one of the most expensive roadbikes ever built, throws almost all of it in the bin and replaces it with the most exotic materials on the planet. Gentlemen, start your drooling.
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Last year when we did an extensive feature on Ducati’s motogp carbon fibre semi-monocoque frame, we lauded its groundbreaking technology. Now it seems the Italian powerhouse is so pleased with its handiwork that the semi-monocoque design looks set to replace Ducati’s trademark trellis frame on its road bikes in the future too.
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The name Vyrus may not be familiar to motorcycle enthusiasts when they begin reading this article, but by the end of it, there’s every chance it will be at the top of their list of “dream bikes.” The small Rimini-based Italian company is currently best known for producing the Bimota Tesi 2D, but the company's new, top-of-the-range, Vyrus 987 C3 4VV naked superbike is just about to propel it to even greater world renown, leapfrogging past a gaggle of superbikes to become the most powerful production motorcycle in the world. It's more powerful than Ducati’s Desmosedici RR, MV Agusta’s F4 312RR, Suzuki’s Hayabusa or Kawasaki’s ZZR1400. The hub-centre-steered Vyrus runs a 211 bhp supercharged 1198cc 1098R Ducati engine, weighs just 158 kg and costs EUR 65,000 (US$91,700).
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